News and Views: Childless Want Flexibility, Too

03/06/07

Common wisdom has it that harassed parents are the ones who want flexible work arrangements (part-time work, job sharing, flexible hours, etc.) so they can take children to the doctor or soccer practice.

Flexible Resources, in Greenwich, Connecticut, specializes in placing those desiring flexible positions. One of its recent surveys showed that 20 percent of the women seeking flexible positions were childless. Said the firm’s president, Nadine Mockler, “We are seeing more women—and increasingly men—who value control over their lives as much or more than compensation… Since September 11, more people are putting their priorities in order and are unwilling to ‘wait until they have kids’ to attain a balance between work and their personal lives.”